Modern electro-optic systems are being further miniaturized such that many electro-optic components are commonly mounted upon the same platform. The platform typically includes a submount which may be mounted upon a heat sink, such as a heat pump or the like. As such, the submount is generally formed of a thermally conductive material, such as a metal or semiconductor, in order to provide a path of relatively low thermal impedance from the various electro-optic components mounted upon the submount to the underlying heat sink.
In order to properly function, the various components of the electro-optic system must be precisely aligned. For example, an electro-optic system that includes a pump diode and an associated laser crystal or active gain medium requires that the pump diode be precisely aligned with the laser crystal as well as various other optical components, such as lenses, mirrors and the like. While this alignment has always been somewhat challenging, the alignment of the various components of an electro-optic system has become increasingly critical and increasingly difficult as the various components of the electro-optic systems have become even smaller.
Once the various electro-optic elements have been appropriately mounted upon the submount, the submount assembly, including the submount and any underlying heat sink, is commonly mounted in an appropriate package, such as a TO-3 or TO-8 package. As is known to those skilled in the art, electro-optic packages, such as a TO-3 or TO-8 package, includes a number of conductive pins which must be electrically connected to appropriate leads of the submount assembly in order to provide the necessary electrical energy to the electro-optic system. Even if the various electro-optic components are properly mounted upon the submount, the mounting of the submount assembly within the package and the establishment of the electrical connections between the conductive pins of the package and respective leads of the submount assembly can disadvantageously affect the performance of the electro-optic system. In particular, the mounting of the submount assembly within a package generally requires handling of the submount assembly which may expose the submount assembly and, more particularly, the various electro-optic components, to static electricity and other deleterious conditions. In addition, conventional packaging techniques, including the establishment of appropriate electrical connections between the conductive pins of a package and the respective leads of the submount assembly, may disadvantageously heat the various electro-optic components.
Although a variety of miniaturized electro-optic systems have been developed which include submounts and associated heat sinks for providing heat dissipation for the various electro-optic components, a need still exists for improved techniques for aligning the various electro-optic components of a miniaturized electro-optic system. Moreover, a need still exists for improved packaging techniques in order to appropriately package an electro-optic system without adversely affecting the electro-optic components.